Animal Welfare Economics and Cost-Benefit Analysis

Applying economic analysis to animal welfare helps quantify the costs and benefits of welfare improvements, making the case for policy change in the language of government and business.

Key Facts

Lewis Bollard of Open Philanthropy estimates that chicken welfare reforms cost around $0.01 per bird
The economic costs of lameness in dairy cattle far exceed the cost of prevention and treatment
Welfare reforms that improve productivity are often business-neutral or positive for producers
Consumer willingness to pay for higher welfare products varies by country and product category
The Humane Society of the United States employs economists to model farm welfare transitions
Cost-effectiveness analysis is central to effective altruist approaches to animal welfare funding

Welfare Considerations

Animal welfare economics provides tools to make the welfare case in policy and business decision frameworks. When welfare improvements also improve productivity - as with lameness prevention or reducing stress in pigs - the economic case aligns with the welfare case. Where welfare improvements have net costs, quantifying them allows comparison with other public goods investments. Cost-effectiveness analysis in animal welfare philanthropy has directed hundreds of millions of dollars toward interventions reaching billions of animals - a model of strategic altruism applied to animal suffering.

What You Can Do

Support organisations using cost-effectiveness analysis to direct animal welfare funding
Engage with economic arguments for animal welfare reform in policy advocacy
Back research on consumer willingness to pay for higher welfare products
Share economic analyses of welfare reform costs and benefits with decision-makers
Donate to effective animal welfare charities identified through rigorous cost-effectiveness evaluation